Milestone man Weeks to celebrate in front of home crowd

JackJumpers vice-captain Jarrad Weeks will lap up the home crowd support when the club celebrates his milestone game.

Weeks’ 200^th game as well as Jarred Bairstow’s 50^th game fell on last Sunday’s away win against the Breakers and so the celebrations have been delayed to recognise the achievement in front of a home crowd at MyState Bank Arena.

“It’s something I’m pretty proud of, I’ve reflected this week and spoken to a lot of old coaches and teammates.

“It’s been a of hard work. Growing up I never made any state teams or anything so it’s just been continual improvement and hard work. A lot of these guys coming through will play a lot more than me but to hit 200 is a massive milestone, I hold that very dearly” Weeks said.

Weeks’ is in his 10^th NBL season after starting as a development player at the Sydney Kings in 2011.

After playing with the Hobart Chargers in the 2016 SEABL season, Weeks, wife Michelle and newborn son Freddie returned to Tasmania to help lay the foundations of the JackJumpers.

“It’s an amazing place to play and I’m just super happy it’s worked out like this and I get to celebrate in a place and club that’s so special to me.

“The culture and the buy in of this club is something unmatched. I’ve been around a lot of great coaches and different styles of basketball and to be here and to have these people involved, Rothy all the way through the staff, is really special.

“How they view basketball is very similar to how I view basketball. It’s a great family atmosphere and it’s something to be proud of. I’m glad I’m here from the roots to help bring that culture to life.”

Head Coach Scott Roth said “When you get old, you’ve played a lot of games and he’s getting old! [laughs]”

“One of the reasons he’s here is for that experience and he’s one of those culture-builders that I wanted. Him and Clint have filled those leadership roles really well. It’s credit to him to play 200 games in this League”.  

Weeks has played for five NBL clubs across his 10-seasons to reach the significant milestone.

The 32-year old credits his longevity in the game to a simple strategy.

“Make friends with the physio on every team! Guys would say I’m always on the [massage] table]. It’s a lot of pre-had, not re-hab” Weeks said.

“I’ve got at least another 200 in me! He laughed.  

That starts with game 201 on Friday night against former club Sydney Kings, with the JackJumpers coming off the first consecutive wins in the clubs’ short history.

“It’s been a great week. Obviously two in a row for the first time for this club. We want to go two in a row, and two in a row again after that.

“Sometimes it takes a week and sometimes it takes four months, but eventually the work does pay off and it’s finally coming together for us” Weeks said.

Head Coach Scott Roth said the team deserved to revel in the hard-fought wins against Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers in Round 9.

“Since this is our first year, I celebrate all of them. This League can be very humbling so in our first year, you need to celebrate wins and reward these victories, and not think you’re too good for that. For us the enthusiasm to go play, the excitement to go play is still so fresh.

“The guys deserve to celebrate the wins and then a day or so later, we flip the page over and we start again and we work harder for the next one” Roth said.  

Roth is conscious of the danger in complacency, particularly after the JackJumpers surrendered a 9-point ¾ time lead to the Kings, last time the two sides met in Round 3.

“That game feels like last year, it’s hard to reflect back on that. They’ve got Adams back who’s probably be their main guy, this will be the first time we’ve seen him. We just take our confidence from the work we’ve done and I think this year it’s all about us and taking care of our own business” Roth said.